Wool and other fiber drying machine.



A. SOWDEN. WOOL AND OTHER FIBER DRYING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 14, 1911.

1,032,718. Patented July 16, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

A. SOWDEN. WOOL AND OTHER FIBER DRYING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 14,1911. 1 ,032,71 3. Patented July 16, 1912.

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s ATES PATENT OFFICE.

WOOL AND OTHER FIBER DRYING MACHINE.

1 Specification of Letters Patent;

Patented July 16, 19112.

Application filed November 14, 1911. Serial No. 660,197.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR SOWDEN, a subject of the King of Great Britain, residing at Staveley Grange, Shipley, near Bradford, in the county of York, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Wool and other Fiber Drying Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to drying machines or apparatus employed for drying wool and other fibers and the like and to that type of apparatus in which the fiber to be treated passes over and under a number of revolving cylinders situated above steam pipes and revolving fans, the machine or apparatus being specially designed for use in combisists' in forming nation with a back washing machine, or as an intermediate machine, or apparatus between a back washing machine and a gill box, the chief objects being to improve the construction of the drying cylinders and the arrangement of the heating appliances used in connection therewith and in the drying chamber, and also to provide an improved form of beater for shaking or agitating the fiber preparatory to the entrance of the latter to the drying chamber.

According to this invention the fiber or sliver enters the top of the drying chamber and is traversed the length thereof above the revolving cylinders and returned over a guide roller to the entrance end of the ma chine from whence it passes the various reyolving drying cylinders, each of which contains a fan. From the last of these cylinders the sliver passes over a series of fans and heating pipes to the front,

end of the machine and between such'fans and heating pipes and another series of fans of the machine.

A feature of the invention consists in interposing a heating pipe about the center of each, group of three cylinders so that the fiber or sliver is heated on both sides at the parts where it leaves one cylinder to pass on to the next one. The feature of the invention relating to the drying cylinders conthe latter with. a perforated wall arranged or provided with means whereby an a1r space exists between the greater portion of the cylinder wall and the uniformly all around the cylinder by the surrounding fiber or sliver with the result that air is forced through the perforations over and under and heating pipes to the rear or delivery end rod h terminating in an eccentric h usual internal fans and issues through the perforationsin a practically radial direction ultimately filling the spaces between the cylinder and the sliver, and causing the latter to be subjected to the heated air from within the cylinder and also to the heated air around the extension thereof.

The beater hereinbefore, referred to comprises a rocking bar or member arranged to contact with the sliver at each of its ends and to beat the sliver twice for each reciprocation'of the baror member.

In the accompanying drawings :Figure 1 is a vertical section of a machine constructed in accordance with this invention. Fig. 2 is a detached view showing a cylinder constructed in accordance with this ,inven-, tion and an old type of cylinder. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section taken through a cylinder constructed in accordance with this 1nvention showing the mechanism for driving the internal fans and, Fig. 4 is an elevation showing a slightly modified construction of cylinder.

A indicates the drying chamber, B the fiber or sliver, C the revolving drying cylinders and D the fans therein, E the fans and F the heating pipes situated below the revolving cylinders, G the heating pipes situated. about'the center of each group of three cylinders, and H -tho beater situated "at or about the entrance end of the drying fchamber.

In the example shown the latter contains five drying cylinders C each of which contains one of the aforesaid fans D as is usual. The beater H is double acting and comprises a frame it pivoted at h and terminating at its opposite ends in cross bars k which extend across the underside 'of the sliver. The frame it is connected at-h withan eccentric which receives motion from spur wheels d, d, of which the wheel 01 is rigidly connected with a sleeve d which carries the fan D appertaining to the first drying cylinder C. Vibration of the frame It due to the connections aforesaid, causes the crossbar k to knock or tap the slivers or fiber thereby tending to open the same. The fiber or sliver B after leaving the beater H passes over a guide roller 1) situated in proximity /'to the entrance end of the machine and over' similar guide rollers 5 b b and from the latter under and over the various heating cylinders to the guide roller b and from the latter over and between two rows of fans E and heating pipes F to the rollers b 6 situated outside the delivery end of the machine.-

lhe heating pipes G placed about the center of each group of three drying cylinders are curved at their upper and lower surinner portions of the slivers.

"faces to follow the curvature of the cylinder and the sides of the heating pipes converge toward the aforesaid lower surface so as to occupy a practically parallel position in relation to the adjacent portions of the sliver. These heating pipes act to a certain extent as battle plates for directing the heated air driven by the fan from the cylinder against the portions of the sliver which intervene between an upper and a lower cylinder and cause the sliver to be uniformly heated on both sides.

The perforated drying cylinders hereinbefore referred to are as already mentioned constructed or arranged in such a manner that a number of free air spaces exist between the outer wall of the cylinder and the inner or adjacent surface of the fibers or slivers that are carried thereby. This may be effected in various ways, for example the cylinder C shown in the lower part of Fig. 2, and in longitudinal section in Fig. 3 comprises a sheet metal cylinder corrugated circumferentially as shown at c and formed with perforations 0 both in the raised and in the recessed portion of the corrugations, bars or rods 0 extending transversely across the raised portions of the corrugations to support the fibers or slivers. In an alternative .arrangement the cylinders C may be constructed from wire gauze c (Fig. 4) provided at intervals with rods or bars such as c to carry the fibers or slivers and to form the aforesaid air spaces between the outer walls of the cylinder and the adjacent By the arrangements above described there is a free passage way for the hot air between the perforated walls of the cylinders and the inner surfaces of the fiber or sliver with the result that the latter are more readily opened out and are dried more quickly and produce a better finish when dried. The drying cylinder C shown above the corrugated cylinder in Fig. 2 is of the ordinary or well known type and comprises longitudinally spaced bars 0 connected with end frames 0 This arrangement however is open to the objection that the greater portion of the air current set up within the cylinder by the fan D is expelled through that part of the cylinder which is not covered by the fibers or slivers and is not blown through the latter.

In carrying out this invention, the machine can be provided with the novel cylinders C exclusively, or, as shown in Fig. 1,

' other forms of cylinder may be used in combination with the novel form of cylinder,

and the nonrevoluble pipes G may be used bet ween each group of three cylinders irrespective of the specific construction of each cylinder. In this manner the novel cylinder can be added to existing machines when any one of its cylinders becomes worn out or broken, and an entirely new machine does not have to be provided. The beater H may also be used irrespective of the specific construction of the drying cylinders inside the machine. The fans D are conveniently driven by the spur wheels d, d appertaining to each fan and previously referred to, these spur wheels being in turn driven by belts (Z mounted upon pulleys d" fixed on the shafts (Z which carry the spur wheels d. The cylinders C are provided as usual, with teeth a the teeth on a lower cylinder gearing with the teeth upon an upper cylinder throughout the series, any suitable means being provided for imparting motion to one or more of the cylinders.

/Vhat I claim as my invention and desire to secureby Letters Patent of the United States is 1. In a drying machine, the combination, with a series of revoluble drying cylinders arranged in a group about a common axis, of a non-revoluble heating pipe arranged substantially at the axis of the said group.

2. In a drying machine, the combination, with a Series of revoluble drying cylinders arranged in a group about a common axis, of a non-revoluble heating pipe arranged substantially at the axis of the said group, and having a side portion which is substangially concentric with one of the said cyliners.

3. In a drying machine, the combination, with drying cylinders, and a heating pipe arranged between them; of means for guiding the material onto the said cylinders, and a heater arranged at the feed end of the machine and operating on the material to be dried.

4. In a drying machine, the combination, with drying cylinders, and a heating pipe arranged between them; of means for guiding the material onto the said cylinders, and

a doubleacting beater arranged at the feed end of the machine and operating on the material to be dried.

5. In a cylinder drying machine, a double acting beater comprising a pivoted frame having a cross bar at each end for engagenient with the material to be dried and means for imparting an oscillatory motion to such bar.

6. In a drying machine, a drying cylinder formed of reticular material, and provided with a series of crossbars arranged around its peripheryand operating to support the material clear of its reticular surface.

7 In a drying machine, a drying cylinder formed of reticular material and provided with a series of corrugations, and having a serles of crossbars arranged around its pe-- riphery and operating to support the material clear of its reticular surface.

8. In a cylinder drying machine, a corrugated drying cylinder having perforations formed in the outer recessed portions of the corrugations.

9. In a cylinder drying machine, a perfo- 10 rated drying cylinder formed With circumferential corrugations and provided with cross pieces extending across the said corrugations to support the material to be dried. In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

ARTHUR SOWDENi Witnesses F RED HAMMOND, CHARLES FELL. 

